Butland, who has also overcome a severe ankle injury that sidelined him for most of last season, says he has the character to deal with setbacks.

“It’s been a tough two years but I’ll recover from it, like I recover from anything,” said the 25-year-old, who was pictured in tears after the final whistle of the May 5 loss to Crystal Palace that sent Stoke down. “It’s onwards and upwards.

“I have to suck up the bad stuff and process things quickly - the injury, losses, relegation - and mentally you have to move on quickly.

The 25-year-old knows he must clear his head now and battle Jordan Pickford for England selection (Image: Reuters)

“Relegation hurts — even now just thinking about it, it’s a horrible feeling. But life goes on for all of us and we have to dust ourselves down, whether it’s the lads going to the World Cup or on holiday.

“We all have to accept what has happened and improve.

“It’s my nature to strive for the best and to keep pushing and that’s what I’ll continue to do whatever the future holds.”

Stoke going down is the latest blow for Butland, whose injury against Germany in March 2016... (Image: Getty)

...forced him to miss more than a year of football for club and country (Image: Getty)

Butland has become close to Banks since moving to Stoke from Birmingham City in 2013, and feels honoured to follow in his large footsteps after being named in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for Russia 2018.

“Every call-up is an honour, but a World Cup call is something extremely special,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of this moment.”

Butland is expected to leave the Bet365 Stadium in the wake of Stoke’s relegation, and claims the board must be “ruthless” to ensure the Potters make a swift return to the top flight.

“What’s gone wrong needs to be addressed extremely quickly and the club needs to move forward,” he said.

“We need to make sure we are bouncing back straight away.

“You have to go into next season with everything in place to come straight back up. Whatever needs to be done to achieve that, the club have got to be ruthless and make it happen.”